More elective surgeries, faster ambulance response times, new Victoria health data reveals

Ambulance crews have cut 20 seconds off their response times to emergencies over the past year but the service is still falling short of its statewide targets.

Ambulance crews have cut 20 seconds off their response times to emergency incidents over the past year but the service is still falling short of its statewide targets.

New data to be released today shows 84.2 per cent of ambulances arrived at urgent incidents within 15 minutes in the first three months of 2019.

That was up from 83 per cent in the same period last year, but still short of the 85 per cent target set by Ambulance Victoria.

THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS WAITING TOO LONG FOR AMBOS

CONCERN OVER P-PLATERS DRIVING AMBULANCES

PARAMEDICS OPEN TO PUSH FOR PILL TESTING TRIAL

Ambulances responded to about 800 code one call-outs every day, arriving in an average time of 11min 04sec.

The latest performance data for Victoria’s health system also reveals 89.6 per cent of elective surgery patients were treated within the benchmark deadlines, the best March quarter result on record.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos praised Victoria’s paramedics but took a swipe at federal government funding for the service. Picture: Supplied

More than half of patients with the most urgent elective surgery needs were treated within 10 days — a day quicker than a year ago.

Doctors have raised concerns that elective surgery figures are skewed because wait times are only calculated from a patient’s first appointment with a public hospital specialist.

But Victorian hospitals completed 689 more elective surgeries in the first three months of 2019 than last year.

“Our hospitals already provide first-class care. Imagine what they could be doing if Canberra was giving Victoria its fair share,” Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

[e-mail]

@tminear